hatchery

Society Grateful for Spirit of Coquitlam Grant

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society is a proud and grateful recipient of the 2023 Spirit of Coquitlam Grant.

"The Spirit of Coquitlam grant supports not-for-profit, community-based organizations that are based in and serving Coquitlam residents. The grant intends to build community spirit by providing funds for public art, sport activities and programs, festivals and events, sport hosting, capital projects, and new initiatives that align with the City’s strategic goals."

The Spirit of Coquitlam grant will be used for equipment for chum and coho salmon monitoring at the Hoy Creek Hatchery and for public outreach.

We would like to formally thank the City of Coquitlam for supporting the safety of our hatchery and staff and for helping to ensure the preservation of our habitats.

Spirit of Coquitlam Grant Appreciated

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society is a proud and grateful recipient of the 2022 Spirit of Coquitlam Grant.

"The Spirit of Coquitlam grant supports not-for-profit, community-based organizations that are based in and serving Coquitlam residents. The intent of the grant is to build community spirit by providing funds for public art, sport activities and programs, festivals and events, sport hosting, capital projects, and new initiatives that align with the City’s strategic goals."

The Spirit of Coquitlam grant was used to purchase data loggers to allow continuous monitoring of the Hoy hatchery rearing pond and Hoy Creek and support the health of our fish and their habitat.  It was also used for the purchase of an iPad to collate data from the data loggers and as a check-in for hatchery staff working alone to ensure their safety.

We would like to formally thank the City of Coquitlam for supporting the safety of hatchery habitats and our staff.

Juvenile Trapping Exercise Conducted in Hoy Creek

Hannah and Aiden set the traps in Hoy Creek.

Juvenile trapping involves baiting gee minnow traps and having them soak overnight in various locations in the creek to survey what’s present in those locations. A trapping activity can provide an understanding of:

  • What types of fish are present in the creek?

  • How big are the fish?

  • Are they hatchery-raised fish or wild fish?

  • Where do hatchery released Coho end up?

  • Where are these fish located?

  • What areas of the creek do they use?

  • How healthy do the fish appear?

Outside of some limited gee trapping to remove fish from the lower pond prior to sediment removal, this may have been the first series of juvenile trapping conducted by the Society.

The process started back in February with the application to the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) for a scientific license to trap for fish. The Society was issued a permit in March however the unstable weather conditions through much of March and April prevented us from getting out and trapping earlier.

The time of year that trapping is conducted is important as different times of year have different life stages for fish. For example, when trapping in April, we wouldn’t expect to see Chum fry present but would expect to see Coho fry as well as Coho parr/pre-smolts. As we get to the summer months, June through August, we might start to see trout fry (Cutthroat, Rainbow). Trout parr could be observed throughout the year.

The last weekend in April finally presented suitable weather conditions for us to trap. At the suggestion of Connie Boulos, Maple Creek Streamkeepers, we used salmon-flavoured wet cat food for our bait balls (tied up with cheesecloth). The Maple Creek Streamkeepers have conducted many years of juvenile trapping to understand what’s present in Maple Creek.

Hoy/Scott Watershed Society members, Rodney, Hannah and Aiden set traps on Friday night. Locations were selected that were deep enough to fully submerge the trap as well as have slow water to prevent fish from getting trapped, exhausted and die because of water that is too fast and fish being held too long.

Then, Hannah and Rodney retrieved the traps on Saturday night and gathered data on what was captured including species identification, length, and, in the case of Coho, hatchery or wild.

Overall observations: A few beautiful cutthroat trout parr were encountered in the fish trap pool behind the fire hall. At all other trapping locations, we encountered wild Coho parr/pre-smolts that appeared good and healthy.

When trapping is conducted year over year, it can be used to get a profile of the fish present – year-over-year, helping us observe changes in the # of fish encountered, the health of fish, and trends in the size of fish encountered. This data will become part of the data record for Hoy and Scott Creeks and could be used in the future to understand the trends in fish population ranges, sizes and health.

This was only the first trapping session in the season. Added sessions are planned:

  1. to trap the upper reaches of Hoy and Scott creeks prior to any hatchery fry releases as well as prior to smolt out-migration to see if any of the previously released hatchery fry were still present as pre-smolts in the release locations;

  2. re-trap the existing areas to see what new species are encountered as the season progresses.

  3. and also, to understand the prevalence of any wild fish present in those locations.

Stream Monitoring Data Loggers Deployed at Hoy Creek

Nikki holds the conductivity logger which has been monitoring Hoy Creek.

On August 9, members of Hoy/Scott Watershed Society met with Nikki Kroetsch, PSEC Community Engagement Coordinator (Ecosystems Science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada) to learn how to download data from a conductivity logger placed in Hoy Creek near the hatchery. This logger has been capturing data for over a year and monitors conductivity, temperature, and water depth. Conductivity is the measure of water's ability to conduct electrical current and is affected by the presence of pollutants and salts.

Finding the GPS location.

Time was also spent re-deploying two temperature data loggers; one upstream (north) and one downstream (south) of the hatchery in Coquitlam. They were redeployed as both initial ones were lost during the last major weather events featuring atmospheric rivers.

A temperature data logger ready for deployment upstream from the hatchery.

Society members will download information from the loggers several times a year.

Detailed pictures were taken of each site and GPS coordinates were recorded.

Learn more about the DFO PSEC Community Stream Monitoring (CoSMo)

View more photos on our Facebook page.

HSWS Executive Remains Unchanged after Annual General Meeting

HSWS Executive in front of the rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery. From left to right: Lani Lehun, Tyler Storgaard, Anne Woosnam, Robbin Whachell, Kyle Uno, Emily Rossi and Kim Mayes (Missing from the photo was Rodney Lee and Sandra Uno)

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society held its annual general meeting on May 19. The meeting, with elections, were held virtually through Zoom conferencing.

Congratulations to returning directors: Kim Mayes, Rodney Lee, Lani Lehun, Anne Woosnam, and Emily Rossi. Also to returning treasurer, Kyle Uno who moves into his third term.

The newly elected join current executive, secretary Sandra Uno, vice president Tyler Storgaard, and president Robbin Whachell.

"I want to thank you all for staying on as our HSWS executive!" said Society president Robbin Whachell. "We're an engaged team. These continue to be very interesting and trying times. It's great to be working together to keep our momentum going as a society and the hatchery operating."

While the society is currently not engaging in any group activities due to the pandemic, the fish are being monitored by daily feeders, the hatchery has weekly check-ins by management, and all is being overseen by the Department of Fisheries & Oceans.

Hoy - Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Fish Kill in Hoy Creek South of Lasalle Place

Photo of water at the bridge adjacent to the hatchery around 10:30 a.m., taken by a hatchery volunteer.

A milky substance was observed in Hoy Creek and was reported to the City of Coquitlam the morning of Tuesday, May 11.  

The City provided the following report:

”An investigation and cleanup work was carried out throughout the day to prevent further impacts to the creek. There was also an earlier incident of a surcharging sewer manhole that also impacted the creek on the same day.

 At around 8:30 a.m., a sewer manhole was surcharging at Erskine and Brewster.  A vactor truck was sent to the site to flush and clean up the area.  Around the same time, a report was received regarding a brown, odorous sludge seen in Hoy Creek west of White Pine Place. Engineering staff checked this site shortly after but the creek was running clear by the time they arrived.

 At around 10:30 a.m. the City received another report regarding Hoy Creek. A member of the public advised that the water near the hatchery looked milky. Engineering staff inspected the creek from the aquatic complex (CCAC) downstream past the hatchery and observed the creek by the hatchery having a milky colour, but downstream the creek was running clear.  They also noted that the fish in the creek were swimming about and did not look like they were impacted. 

Further inspection was conducted downstream nearest the south end of Lasalle Place where staff identified a soapy substance at an outfall and observed about 15–20 small dead fish in a tributary of the creek.  They tried to trace the source upstream and noticed a strong acidic smell in one of the manholes, so they flushed out the storm main in that area to ensure that the acidic smelling substance did not continue to impact the creek.  It was not clear to the attending staff whether this fish kill incident near the south end of Lasalle Place was related to the reported milky substance by the hatchery, and the investigative and cleanup work concluded at around 4 p.m.”

Please be mindful – everything entering a storm drain ends up in a creek. Creeks contain aquatic life that can’t survive pollution being dumped into the habitat. As members of the public, we all have a duty to steward and protect the environment that we live in. Should you witness any suspected pollution being dumped into a storm drain, please take immediate action to report it to the authorities:

  • City of Coquitlam Engineering 24 hour emergency (Municipal): 604-927-3500

  • Observe, Record, Report (Federal): 1-800-465-4336

  • Report all poachers and polluters (Provincial): 1-877-952-RAPP

CLICK HERE TO READ HOME TIPS FOR HEALTHY STREAMS

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Surplus Coho Salmon Fry Released by Hoy/Scott Watershed Society

Hatchery manager, Rodney Lee buckets coho fry for transfer to another location.

In May 2020, Hoy Creek Hatchery held approximately 13,620 coho fry.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society's annual aquaculture license with federal fisheries allows us to incubate up to 25,000 eggs but only release 5,000 1-year-old Coho smolts from that brood year in May.

Any excess are released to the Upper Hoy and Scott Creeks to areas of the stream where wild fry are not present. In addition, fry are released to Pinnacle Pond. From those locations, the Coho fry can make use of the habitat, grow and eventually make their way out to the ocean to complete their lifecycle.

On May 16, HSWS volunteers Rodney Lee and Tyler Storgaard weighed and counted out our surplus of 8,620 fry and loaded up the truck for transport and released them at 5 different locations. The fry weighed approximately 1.3 grams and are about 5 months old.

Transfer tub in the back of the truck

The Coquitlam locations where surplus coho fry were released on Saturday were: Upper Hoy Creek at Camelback Ct off of Plateau; Upper Scott Creek at Panorama by Bramblewood; Upper Scott Creek at Tanglewood Lane; Beaver Pond at Scott Creek; Lower Beaver Pond; and Pinnacle Pond.

Once our remaining fry grow to 2 – 3 grams they will be ready for marking, and will have their adipose fins clipped to identify them as hatchery fish. Our hatchery fry continue to be hand-fed twice per day.

After clipping they will be transferred to the rearing pond west of the hatchery where they will mature until the Salmon Leave Home event in May 2021.

The fry weighed approximately 1.3 grams and are about 5 months old.



Fishy Fun at 2017 Salmon Leave Home

A mother and son peek at a coho fingerling held by a HSWS volunteer at Salmon Leave Home (Photo: Robbin Whachell / HSWS)

A mother and son peek at a coho fingerling held by a HSWS volunteer at Salmon Leave Home (Photo: Robbin Whachell / HSWS)

And they're gone!

Coho smolts that had their start in life at the Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam are well on their way to adapting to life in the stream.  Approximately 5000 smolts were released at Hoy-Scott Watershed Society's Salmon Leave Home event on May 7th.

When ready, they will make their way from Hoy Creek to Scott Creek, then Coquitlam River, then to the Fraser River, and then on to the Straight of Georgia and the Pacific Ocean.

A father and son set to release coho smolts into Hoy Creek during Salmon Leave Home on May 7th, 2017. (Photo: Robbin Whachell / HSWS)

A father and son set to release coho smolts into Hoy Creek during Salmon Leave Home on May 7th, 2017. (Photo: Robbin Whachell / HSWS)

The weather was perfect for the family fun free community event, and there was a steady flow of people throughout the day.  Patrons learned about the life-cycle of the salmon, viewed hatchery facilities, and had fun building bird boxes, getting face-painted, and doing fish-crafts.  Music was provided by 98.7 The Point radio. Watershed Watch Salmon Society was also on had with crafts for the kids and education for all. Jay Peachy honoured the Kwikwetlem First Nation traditional territory and delivered the "Salmon Song" accompanied by drumming.

The highlight of the day was the release of the smolts, as children of all ages delighted in carrying young salmon in buckets from the rearing pond a short distance to release them into Hoy Creek.

Face-painting, building bird boxes, and fish crafts...

Face-painting, building bird boxes, and fish crafts...

The society wishes to thank all of our hard working volunteers from Pinetree Secondary.

Over the summer things generally slow down at the hatchery, but volunteers still continue to oversee the care of some 25,000 coho fry, approximately 5 months old, who will be transferred into the rearing pond before June.

The bird box building station at Salmon Leave Home. 

The bird box building station at Salmon Leave Home. 

See ALL of our photos from Salmon Leave Home on our Facebook album HERE.

Work also continues in the riparian areas of the watershed to ensure invasive species are reduced and native plants are thriving. A healthy riparian area ensures a healthy creek.

In July or August the society also does a stream cleanup, removing trash and debris from Scott and Hoy Creeks. To get involved, click our "Get Involved" button, or email the Society at hoyscottwatershed@gmail.com

 

 

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society members release chum salmon fry

HSWS members met at dusk to release the chum salmon fry. Rodney Lee, hatchery manager (seen center) provides direction.

HSWS members met at dusk to release the chum salmon fry. Rodney Lee, hatchery manager (seen center) provides direction.

On March 19th, members of Hoy-Scott Watershed Society met near dusk at the Hoy Creek Hatchery to release 26,363 chum salmon fry.  This was an historic moment as the society has not raised chum salmon since the mid-90s. Fry were netted into buckets in the Capilano trough room, and hand carried to be released into Hoy Creek.  The process was led by hatchery manager, Rodney Lee.

"The 2016 brood stock season was super busy with our hatchery introducing a program to rear Chum salmon in addition to the Coho salmon that we've traditionally raised," said hatchery manager Rodney Lee. "The really warm October had creek temperatures in the 13C range which made for quick incubation early in the season, but then we had the really cold temperatures (creek temp lows under 3C) throughout much of the winter which really slowed development."

"We have approximately 12,000 Coho fry and the last alevins are beginning to 'swim up'.  We will be shutting down and cleaning out our incubators for the season."

"Our Coho fingerlings from the 2015 brood stock season have really started their Spring growth.  With water temperatures rising, their metabolism increases, and they eat at lot more and grow rapidly.  We are focusing on getting them to target release weight in anticipation of our Salmon Leave Home event on May 7th."

Photos were taken by society members: Nathen Blower, Lilian Elliott and Arno Hazebroek

See all our photos in our Facebook album HERE.

Albino chum discovered at Hoy Creek Hatchery

An albino chum salmon fry seen next to normal chum fry

An albino chum salmon fry seen next to normal chum fry

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society's hatchery manager, Rodney Lee discovered a rare albino chum salmon fry this past week while assessing fish in the incubation room at Hoy Creek hatchery in Coquitlam.

Last year we found a conjoined twin coho fry.